Bones, Cyberknife Is Not Just For Trekkies

When I was a teenager, I would sneak into my dorm’s common room (at midnight) to watch re-runs of Star Trek. Some how this corny show from the ’60’s transported me to the future where humans would cruise through space, beam up at will, and have blood-free surgeries.

Accuray a manufacturer of radiation oncology systems is taking the concept “Bones” medical scanner to the next level. CyberKnife basically scans, detects, and repairs cancers without ANY invasive procedures. BY using a high-resolution CT can to determine the size, shape and location of the true to send real-time data to monitoring physicians. Following the scanning process, the medical-bot then begins radiation treatment at pinpoint procession, to limit radiation exposure. By using its computer-controlled system the robot moves around the patient to implement the treatment plan in four dimensions. Each session lasts for only 30-90 minutes or a fraction of the time vs. traditional surgery. There is even an app for CyberKnife that is able to provide on the go stats, treatments and reports in real-time to the oncologist.

According to the Medical Director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, Dr. Shiao Woo says, “we make the process easier for the patient and hopefully in some cases, not all perhaps, we may even reduce a little bit of the side effects of treatment which means patients quality of life would be better.” While Dr. Woo’s center paid $6 million for the new technology that will be available October 24th, it promises to reduce costs at the hospital, patient’s pocketbook and even Medicare.